A
Guide To Gain Weight and Bulking Up
Bodybuilding Supplements Used To Gain
Weight and Bulking Up (Part 2)
Well, that part 1 was a pretty boring intro to this
weight gain and bulking guide. ;-) Now, we get to the
interesting stuff - supplements! All the supplements I used
for this cycle, and will list here, work nicely with little
to no side effects - otherwise, I wouldn't list them here,
nor use them myself.
Here's what I used:
ATP support: Pure Creatine
Monohydrate (in homemade
Cell Tech) and Ribose
Natural testosterone support: Tribulus
Terrestris and ZMA
Proteins and Weight Gainers: Optimum
100% Whey, EAS Simply Whey and ProLab
N Large 2
"The regulars":
A multi vitamin, flax
seed oil, Glutamine
Breakdown of costs:
Homemade CellTech - $40
Ribose - $34 (if you get the Jarrow Ribose, it costs only
$21)
Tribulus - $12
ZMA - $12
100% Whey 5lb - $30
N Large 2 - $40
Glutamine - $50
Multi vitamins - $15
Flax seed oil - $12
Total cost: $245
That's quit a bit. But the amounts in
most of the supplements in here will last you for more than
just 1 cycle. Some will last 2 to 3 cycles and more. And
if you already have some of the stuff in hand like creatine,
glutamine, whey protein, etc. then you don't need to get
any more - just get what you need.
ATP Support - Creatine Monohydrate (Homemade
Cell Tech) and Ribose
ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate,
and it provides energy for muscle contractions that lasts
about 10 seconds by releasing a phosphate molecule. More
ATP is needed for energy, and a large part of how effective
your workouts are, depends on your body's ability to generate
ATP. This is how creatine and ribose comes into play - hence
"ATP support".
How Creatine Monohydrate Works
I have alotta information on creatine
on the site, so I won't go in much detail here. When ATP
releases a phosphate to make energy, it becomes an ADP (adenosine
diphosphate). When you have extra creatine in your body,
the creatine gives a phosphate back to the ADP, making it
an ATP again allowing more energy and endurance for workouts.
In understandable english, it just means
that with extra creatine in your body, you will feel stronger,
have more "bursting" energy, and endurance during
workouts - leading to great strength and muscle gains. See
other creatine articles we got on the site:
Creatine
monohydrate information
Creatine
serum vs. creatine powder
Creatine
use and cycling
As for side effects, creatine is one of
the most studied supplements on the market, and from personal
experience, I'd say creatine is a safe supplement to take
with little to no side effects. I've never had any problems
with creatine, after many years of use. The only minor problem
I've had is over taking it (over 30g/day), that's when I
got some stomach problems. I did that once just to test
things out, and I won't be doing that again. ;-) Typically,
you'll only be taking 5 to 10 grams of creatine each day.
Although creatine has been good to me,
I've also had feedback from users who's bodies just can't
handle creatine very well, leading to various side effects.
These are quite rare, but I should still point them out
so you know. See creatine
side effects here.
So, what's the deal with the homemade
Cell Tech? You see, I'm kind of a cheap @$$ when it comes
to spending unnecessary money on supplements, when I can
go the homemade route for much cheaper and get more out
of my supplements, and this is the case with Cell Tech.
Cell Tech works great for a creatine formula, but its pretty
expensive, so I make my own Cell Tech, and save a big chunk
of change to spend on some other stuff. See my homemade
Cell Tech Recipe here.
Ribose - The Forgotten Significant Other
Ribose is not a popular supplement like
creatine, nor do you hear about it very often; however,
it is gaining popularity, and its price is coming down.
Like creatine, ribose works to help increase ATP stores
in your body leading to more intense and fruitful workouts
- however, ribose works differently than creatine.
Instead of "recycling" ADP into
ATP, ribose is actually a building block of ATP. Instead
of rambling on about why I stack ribose with creatine, you
can read another article I wrote on stacking
creatine and ribose.
Weight Gain Articles Index:
Weight
Gain Guide Part 1 - Intro
Weight Gain
Guide Part 2 - Creatine & Ribose
Weight Gain
Guide Part 3 - Tribulus Terrestris, ZMA, and Dealing with
Acne
Weight Gain
Guide Part 4 - Protein Supplements, Weight Gainers, and
Multi Vitamins
Weight Gain
Guide Part 5 - Supplement Planning
Protein and Weight Gainers:
Creatine and Ribose
Testosterone Support Supplements:
Regulars:
